Yokoso! Japan ad features maid

15.02.2010 by Patrick W. Galbraith

I just saw this in Shinjuku Station. Didn't give it much thought, but something compelled me to take a closer look. Morbid curiosity. And upon closer inspection, I noticed a maid, right behind the kimono girl to the left, and closely associated with a geisha. It is funny how brazen all of this has become, especially since maids are neither Japanese nor otaku culture. It was a small boom in Akihabara promoted almost accidently by media (details here). Now otaku avoid them, and tourism has been winding down since 2006 or 2007. And yet here a maid stands, right at the center of the Cool Japan image. This of course isn't the first time the government has used popular culture (Puffy has been on signs for years).



Maids, too, have appeared in the past. But not alongside fish mongers, sumo and sushi chefs and other great symbols of Japanese culture. I get the feeling something is amiss here. Oh, and here is one for Hakone with Ayanami Rei on it. I like the way she is associated with Mt. Fuji (=Japan).